How did you get the idea for writing a book about ghost stories of Northern Colorado?

When I was researching my first book "Fort Collins Highlights," I learned a few ghost stories and just put them aside because they didn't fit into the Fort Collins book. One day in May at 3 a.m., it came to me that I should write about ghost stories in the area. My distributor also thought it was a viable idea, and the project began.

How did you find the sources you used in researching the book? Did you have a way to gauge their trustworthiness?

The librarians in all the towns I covered were critical in aiding my research to validate or disprove the stories from early days. When I gathered personal experiences from individuals, it was very easy to determine their truthfulness.

What is your favorite ghost story in the book? Why?

One of my favorite ghosts is Barlow, who lived in a Loveland restaurant called Josie Dillon's. He was named Barlow by the owners who were Stephen King fans and thought that name from the novel `Salem's Lot" fit their resident spirit. Barlow was very kind, as the majority of spirits are and became a part of the customers' lives as well as becoming the owners' unseen partner. Who wouldn't love a spirit named Barlow?

According to some of your sources, what are ghosts and why do they haunt particular places? Is there any way to get them to leave?

Some certified paranormal investigators said ghosts are the disembodied essences of people who have been unable to ascend to the afterlife. I found that some spirits or ghosts occupy or visit the place where they died. Other entities appear in places because they have some unfinished business. A building or residence does not have to be old to host a ghost, even though most stories do involve historic locations.

According to a credible intuitive, there are ways to help ghosts to leave. She says many need help ascending to the afterlife and she explains how to do that in the book. Some like having a resident ghost or spirit and they live together very peacefully.

Did you think ghosts were real before you wrote the book? Has the way in which you think about ghosts changed in the process of writing the book?

I believed in ghosts before I wrote the book because so many people have shared their experiences with me. However, I have learned that ghosts are not like the Hollywood depictions we are all familiar with. Ghosts will show themselves only to those they sense are receptive to them and, often in forms of spiritual energy or orbs. There are authentic intuitives who are able to see ghosts. For the rest of us, there are electro magnetic field instruments and other devices that can indicate the presence of ghosts.